Excellent... now if we stay away from Politics & Religion we'll all be happy.

So to kick it off where are people heading this year for their big photo journey?

I'm planning a 3 week trip to Africa in September... a bit of that trip is with Andy Biggs (couldn't time it right to join him with Michael in Namibia) and in July I plan on going to Alaska to shoot some Grizzly Bears on their annual salmon feeding.

I'm off to Greece this summer. I'm trying to decide whether to take my 10D and a couple of lenses or just my Fuji F10 and a fistful of xD cards. Or buy something in between, like the Kodak p880, or a Canon s2 or s3 IS.

That's not a photo trip, though. We're going to see my wife's family as well.

I have to say we got off lucky this year with snow. I live in Alberta Canada between Calgary & Edmonton. We didn't get snow that really stayed until Feb 21st and we are now into early April and no snow.... not bad only 5 weeks of snow. This is only the second time in my 43 years that we had a brown Christmas.

Some people think it was because of last years Tsunami that caused the ocean current temperatures to change and thus resulted in climat change everywhere.

So, while you are getting snow in Boston we are having a start to a great summer. Now... crossing my fingers.... last summer was wet wet wet and I'm hoping we don't get the same this year.

I'm off to Greece this summer. I'm trying to decide whether to take my 10D and a couple of lenses or just my Fuji F10 and a fistful of xD cards. Or buy something in between, like the Kodak p880, or a Canon s2 or s3 IS.

That's not a photo trip, though. We're going to see my wife's family as well.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=61787\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I'd suggest you take something more than the F10. I've got one, great camera for what it is. But it's not a camera for semi-serious shooting, especially in bright light.

I had to rely on my F10 for a few weeks in Laos and Thailand when my primary camera packed it in. Composing on a LCD in bright light is somewhere between difficult and impossible. A 3x, 35-105 lens is very limiting. And the F10 missed focus on closeups. A lot.

If you don't want to carry a dSLR while traveling (I don't) then the S2/3 IS or one of the other superzooms makes a great travel camera.

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And get a portable hard drive or another storage system rather than handfuls of cards. Put the savings toward a travel camera.

That's the way I'm leaning. The S2 has great reviews, and the price has come down quite a bit since the S3 was announced. Plus it uses AA batteries, which I find a big advantage in travelling. Only real downside for me is it uses SD cards, which I don't have.

I leave Saturday for 9 days on the west coats - fly into Vancouver and drive down Washington to the Oregon coast and northern California Redwoods - 100% photography. Michael beat me to it, but I've had this on the calendar for about 6 months.

I leave Saturday for 9 days on the west coats - fly into Vancouver and drive down Washington to the Oregon coast and northern California Redwoods - 100% photography. Michael beat me to it, but I've had this on the calendar for about 6 months.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=61872\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

We did that trip last summer... wonderful time. It was with my family so photography was not at the top of the agenda but none the less still came back with some great photos.

Excellent... now if we stay away from Politics & Religion we'll all be happy.

So to kick it off where are people heading this year for their big photo journey?

I'm planning a 3 week trip to Africa in September... a bit of that trip is with Andy Biggs (couldn't time it right to join him with Michael in Namibia) and in July I plan on going to Alaska to shoot some Grizzly Bears on their annual salmon feeding.

Not this year, but in February of '07 I'll be going on one of Andy Biggs 12-day safaris in Tanzania. Can't wait!

A bit closer in late June, I'll be going for a one week photo vacation in North Dakota (Teddy Roosevelt National Park, to be specific). Was there once a few years ago, and was impressed enough with the landscapes that I wanted to go back there with the better equipment I have now. Definitely a similar but less-crowded alternative to the Badlands of South Dakota. The town of Medora (basically right outside the gate to the south unit of the park) also is interesting photographically speaking.

I leave Saturday for 9 days on the west coats - fly into Vancouver and drive down Washington to the Oregon coast and northern California Redwoods - 100% photography. Michael beat me to it, but I've had this on the calendar for about 6 months.

I love the redwoods, but, be warned, it's *tough* to take effective photos of a redwood forest. It's the toughest landscape I've seen for photography. It's dark under the trees, often misty, and the trees are waaaay the wrong aspect ratio to capture in the photographic frame. That said, a redwood forest is an amazing and beautiful thing. I'm fortunate to live not too far from the area, so I can visit often. (I was interested to see if Michael could get a significant number of really good redwood forest pictures, since I have trouble with it. Based on the photos he's posted so far, it looks like he has trouble with it too!)

Me, I've already been to Tuscany over Christmas and Japan just recently. No other big plans for this year, though, because of medical problems and family issues.

And it's still winter here in northern California (real northern CA, not the ersatz version). Sunshine is in short supply. I've had snow almost every day for the last couple of weeks. (Up at elevation.)

You might want to think about heading inland a bit more toward the Sierras.

I leave Saturday for 9 days on the west coats - fly into Vancouver and drive down Washington to the Oregon coast and northern California Redwoods - 100% photography. Michael beat me to it, but I've had this on the calendar for about 6 months.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=61872\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I hope to be in the Highlands of Scotland for two weeks relaxing after what should prove to be a rather heavy wedding season, I intend to have a go at making an orignal photograph of Castle Stalker on the Isle of Mull, I also want to redo this photo of Eileen Donan castle which isn't as sharp as it should be.

I also would like to do some star trail photography though it may prove to be too light at that time of year that far North.